The Future Lives Here

Menu

The Future This Week: June 26, 2017

“We wanted flying cars. Instead we got 140 characters.”–Peter Thiel

“Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”–Douglas Adams

The PAL-V flying car prototype

It appears that Peter Thiel might get his flying car by this time next year. Oh, there’s just one problem though. If you want one, you’ll have to be as rich as Peter Thiel, as they won’t exactly be cheap. In fact you can buy a single engine Cessna for much less. In any case, let’s hope the drivers miss when they throw themselves at the ground.

Neural Networks/Quantum Computing–The US Air Force and IBM are collaborating on a venture to build the world’s first supercomputer to be based on human brain architecture. The device, employing IBM’s True North neurosynaptic technology, will have the equivalent of five million neurons and 16 billion synapses. In case you’re worried about being replaced, the human brain has about 100 billion neurons and one quadrillion ( 1015 ) synapses.